HERSHEY, PA – Pheonix Copley shakes Bryan Lerg’s hand after Hershey’s game 4 win over Worcester in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
A playoff game usually doesn’t result in a 10 goal effort, but the Hershey Bears put together their best offensive game of the season and beat the Worcester Sharks 10-4 on Friday night to advance to the Calder Cup conference semi-finals.
Worcester, MA – Chris Conner enters the ice before game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarter Finals against the Worcester Sharks (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
It was a difficult way to win a game, but the Bears had a come from behind victory in game one of the Calder Cup Eastern Conference quarter-finals Friday night in Worcester. An outstanding performance from goalie Pheonix Copley, who had a 41-save night, along with a great overall team effort propelled the Chocolate and White to a 4-1 victory over the Sharks.
Worcester, MA – Dustin Gazley smiles during Hershey’s morning skate before game one of the 2015 Calder Cup Eastern Conference Quarter Finals (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
As the Hershey Bears prepare for game 1 of their first round series against the Worcester Sharks, Chocolate Hockey is following the team on the road as they go for Calder Cup number 12. The Bears take on the Baby Sharks at 7PM, but before that, we have photos of morning skate at the DCU center. We will have live game updates on our Twitter account, @ChocHockey.
HERSHEY, PA – Philipp Grubauer makes his one of his 38 saves on Worcester during Hershey’s win against the Sharks Saturday night (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
There’s not much to say about this game other than Philipp Grubauer was in the zone all night long, making 38 saves and earning his 7th career shutout as Bear. Chris Brown, who was just reassigned to Hershey today, scored the games only goal in the first period, giving Hershey the 1-0 win. Enjoy these photos.
Casey Wellman, seen here earlier in the season, scored the game winning goal during Hershey’s 3-2 win over Worcester Saturday night. (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
At the start of the third period, Worcester Sharks’ play-by-play commentator spoke the words, “The Sharks’ season is on the line in this period.” At the moment, Worcester trailed to Chocolate and White by a 2-1 score entering the stanza.
This was a playoff games in the eyes of the Sharks, as they entered play in the tenth seed of the Eastern Conference, five points removed from the Bears and six from Norfolk. Dan DaSilva tied the game for Worcester with the extra attacker on the ice in the final minute, sending the game to overtime. But Casey Wellman ended the game in Hershey’s favor by finishing a quick, breakaway chance at the OT’s 2:49 mark, to conclude a massive 3-2 victory.
Casey Wellman, seen here earlier in the season, had two points during Hershey’s loss Saturday night to Worcester (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
There are 11 games remaining in the regular season for the Hershey Bears, who are now five points out of the 8th and final playoff spot. That’s not an impossible obstacle to overcome, but the Bears current slump is making the road to the playoffs even harder. Hershey dropped two of three this weekend with back-to-back losses in Worcester on Saturday and in Manchester on Sunday afternoon.
HERSHEY, PA – Josh Brittain celebrates his late first period goal in Hershey’s 4-0 shutout win (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
On Saturday night, missed opportunities haunted the Hershey Bears against the Worcester Sharks leading to their tenth regulation set back of the season. A factor towards the defeat was having only a 1-for-7 success rate on the man-advantage, dropping their ranking to 24th in the 30 team American Hockey League.
The power play struggles continued into the next night against the Sharks, but the end result differed in Hershey’s 4-0 win.
HERSHEY, PA – David Leggio and Eriah Hayes look back at the puck after Worcester’s third period goal to give them the win over Hershey (Tim Stough / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Within the last five seasons, the Hershey Bears have beaten the Worcester Sharks only once in five attempts on Giant Center ice. Both teams met Saturday in Chocolate Town for the first time this season. On Joel Rechlicz bobble-fist night, Rechlicz did not engage in an altercation, but rather took a crucial first period charging minor leading to Worcester’s second goal of the game. The Bears later fell by a 3-2 count/
Worcester and Hershey face off in a game earlier in the season (Worcester Sharks Facebook Page)
Desperate for a win to close out the weekend, the Hershey Bears battled the Worcester Sharks for a Sunday matinee at the DCU Center. Following two crushing losses in Connecticut and Manchester, Garrett Mitchell received first star honors in a 4-1 victory over the Sharks.
Philipp Grubauer looks on during a game earlier this season (Tim Stough – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
After an astonishing three goal performance by the Hershey Bears’ power play unit against the Connecticut Whale, they looked to continue their recent special teams success on the road in Worcester, Massachusetts. Boyd Kane opened up the scoring early and helped the Bears to a 3-2 shootout win over the Worcester Sharks.